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Gender

Lambda, the sole Mozambican association defending the rights of lesbian, gay, bisexual and transsexual (LGBT) people, has protested publicly against the illegal refusal by the Justice Ministry to register it as a bona fide association.

Lambda first submitted its application for legal recognition as an association in 2008 and since it received no reply, it submitted an appeal in August 2013 but there is still no reply.

Independent researcher and analyst, Nomboniso Gasa, says although South Africa has made progress in the advancement of women, more still needs to be done.

Gasa says strides have been made towards women advancement especially in the public sector where women are found in leadership positions.

She however, highlights that the private sector remains behind in ensuring that women are considered in leading positions, adding that institutions in the private sector should be structurally designed for the inclusion of women.

The Hate Crimes Working Group says since the introduction of its monitoring forum, more cases of hate crimes are being reported.

The forum, which is a comprehensive way of gathering information about victims of hate-related crime, is of the view that such crimes target people on the basis of their gender, religion or culture and often include violence such as rape.

Rights organisation, Gender Links, says that, "Cultural practices and customary laws in Southern Africa Development Committee (SADC) limit women's ability to access, own and control means of production such as land and livestock."

The organisation believes that the inability by women to access means of production has had an impact on their economic independence and ability to move out of poverty.

Zambia’s local government and housing minister, Emmanuel Chenda, believes there is a need for concerted family and community-based activities to supplement government efforts in combating early marriages, teenage pregnancies and gender-based violence (GBV).

Chenda is saddened by the increase in cases of early marriages, teenage pregnancies and GBV in that country.

Ministry of Gender, Children and Social Welfare says a roll-out programme will be implemented to retain female parliamentarians, increase and achieve 50/50 representation of members of parliament in the national assembly.

Speaking in an interview, Gender Affairs director, Peter Msefula affirms that the programme will focus on training female parliamentarians on how best they can save the interest of the people in their constituencies.

The United Nations says that around 120 million girls around the world, close to one in 10, have been raped or sexually assaulted by the time they turn 20.

In its new report, Hidden in Plain Sight, which draws on data from 190 countries, the United Nations Children’s Fund (UNICEF) describes the report as the largest-ever study of violence against children.

The report revealed that one fifth of all murder victims are children and teens, with homicide the leading cause of death among male youths in Latin American countries including Venezuela, Colombia, Panama and Brazil.

In her article titled ‘Gender Violence Still Hinders Women's Freedom’, Chipatiso argues that, “Whether it is the abduction of girls in Nigeria, the unending trial of Oscar Pistorius or the young woman raped and murdered last over the weekend because of her sexuality- the horrific immediacy of violence is all too apparent.”